


Star Light, Star Bright

by LadyofAvalon



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Force Unleashed - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2017-11-07 13:12:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 10,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/431563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyofAvalon/pseuds/LadyofAvalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Galen Marek's life was never easy.  Drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Set I

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the fifth Ultimate Drabble Challenge at the Jedi Council Forums, where the challenge is to write one hundred drabbles in twenty weeks based on the prompts the challenge mod gives us. I started these when they would not leave me alone after I had just finished playing through The Force Unleashed for the first time.

**1\. Doctor**

"Hold still, please," the med droid's cold, monotonous voice and frigid metal fingers cause the boy to flinch. The dull ache in his arm whispered a faint melody of greater pain when the chilled machine touched him.

He recoiled, trying to remove his burned arm from the droid's care. Then a grip like durasteel clamped down on his shoulder. His head jerked up to see his black-cloaked mentor towering above him, mechanical breathing echoing too loudly in the ward.

The youngster flinched again, ready to be dealt yet another punishing blow. Instead, only the frozen touch reached for him again.

* * *

**2\. Companion**

"Set course for Corellia," Starkiller's voice told her. Juno glanced at him, blue eyes searching his expression. He did not pay her a bit of attention as she laid in the course.

He had changed so much in the aftermath of Vader's betrayal of him. He did not seem to realize it. Even when she had caught him speaking to his former master, she had seen it in him. It was not immediate, but it was there.

It was like he was just starting to believe that what he was doing was a good thing. She was proud of him.

* * *

**3\. Time**

They had spent only months together. All she had done was fly him to where he needed to go.

There was something about Juno Eclipse that did not sit as he had expected it to. Perhaps it was because she, unlike the last seven pilots, was a woman. He did not see other people very often, let alone someone as beautiful as she was.

She had been branded a traitor because of him... She had only been doing what she had been told. Her job probably did not even matter to her, as long as she was serving the Empire...

* * *

**4\. Space**

Juno missed him when he was gone.

She missed being able to talk to him, even if it was a short conversation. She missed watching him stare at the blurred starscape when they were in hyperspace.

She missed _him_. The lack of his presence had left an empty hole in her chest. She would turn around and expect to see him standing there sometimes. Other times, she would hear a sound in the _Rogue Shadow_ and think it was him for some reason.

Sometimes she forgot he was dead.

Galen had been a good man. He had not deserved death.

* * *

**5\. Dimensions**

There was a time when the hulking figure of his former master had struck fear in Starkiller's heart.

The tall, black-cloaked cyborg was no longer someone he was afraid of. Vader was nothing more than a Sith, and he was only human. Mostly.

He was not afraid anymore. A bright light guided him, reminding him of who he had become.

The battle was easy. The war that he had started was difficult. He did not expect to survive this battle, but he would save his allies. He could do it.

He would do it. No matter what. He couldn't fail.


	2. Set II

**6\. Island**

He returned to the _Rogue Shadow_ tired and beaten.

Juno's first reaction after getting them into orbit and away from the planet was to look over at him and wish desperately that he would let her care for his wounds.

He had scorch marks all over his body from the lightsaber of Maris Brood and bloody scratches from the rancor. She did not even know what they were from, but she knew they had to hurt. His skin was reddened, blistering around the scorch marks.

All he did was sit down heavily in the co-pilot's chair and close his eyes.

* * *

**7\. Survival**

Their lightsabers met in a sizzling clash.

This was no longer master and apprentice sparing, if what they had previously done could even be called that. This was a battle to the death, a fight between mortal enemies.

Vader had betrayed him far too many times. He was done listening to his former master. His life was his own, not Vader's to command.

His open defiance changed everything. The dutiful apprentice he had once been was gone. He was no longer that man – he was Galen Marek, not just Starkiller. He knew his name now; he was his own person.

* * *

**8\. Lost**

" _It was you, Juno."_

Kota's words rang in her ears for several long moments after they left the blind Jedi's mouth.

She did not quite understand why, of all thing, she had been the single light in the heart of Starkiller. Though she had loved him, she was not sure that he had reciprocated her feelings. Their first and only kiss had been in the heat of the moment, when she knew he was not coming back.

Had it truly been her that had been his light? Had he loved her?

" _I guess I'll never have to live it down."_

* * *

**9\. Other**

Starkiller learned very early on that there were few ways to please his master.

The only way was complete and utter success. He had to complete his missions to the letter. If he did not, he was punished.

For a long time, he had no alternative. It was all in black and white, an easily defined line in between.

That was how it was for a long time with Juno, too. She was either his pilot or his friend. She could not be anything in between for him. He would not let her be anything else.

Vader's betrayal changed that.

* * *

**10\. Flashback**

Pain seared through his chest unbidden. Starkiller could almost feel the heat of the blade penetrating his flesh. The heat consumed him, flashing images and feelings though his mind.

He sat up on his bunk an instant later, hitting his head on the one above him. He winced, then sighed, leaning back. He moved a hand to his chest, touching the scar that remained from where his master had literally stabbed him in the back.

It was a long moment before he rose, taking care not to wake Juno in her bunk. She should rest, even if he could not.


	3. Set III

**11\. Far**

Juno Eclipse's hands flew over the instrument panels of the _Rogue Shadow_ even while paralyzing fear gripped her chest.

The instant they were in hyperspace, it was gone, leaving numbness in its wake. Galen was gone. Dead. She had seen his final moments as she was maneuvering the ship away. Kota moved in moments later, putting a hand on her shoulder. She ignored it.

It wasn't fair – not at all. She did not want to be alone like that. Not after all the time they had spent together.

It was too late, though, she told herself. He wasn't coming back.

* * *

**12\. Prisoners**

They were not so different when he actually thought about it. They never had been. They still were not.

Both he and Juno had been trapped by the Empire without knowing it. Secretly, they had both yearned for freedom. Perhaps, Galen pondered, if they had not been put in such situations, would they would have had happy lives. Perhaps there would have been a chance for them to know each other under different circumstances.

At least she would survive this. He knew that he would not. He just hoped that she would be safe. Then he would be at peace.

* * *

**13\. Peacekeepers**

Starkiller's job proved to be tedious at times. Hunting down Jedi in Vader's stead seemed to be a difficult one.

Whenever he came back from these missions of his, Juno found herself wondering exactly what it was that caused the mood swings the young man seemed prone to.

He had come back with a different mix of emotions for every Jedi he faced. He never lost. He did his job. It did not matter how battered or bruised he came out of it – Starkiller always got his target. She found that she could admire that much – he never gave up.

* * *

**14\. Uncharted**

The instant their lips touched, Galen knew what he was doing. He knew what he was fighting for. Years upon years of having no purpose other than to be Vader's slave came crashing down around him.

He did not need that anymore. He truly knew what he wanted and what he needed to do. Now he just needed to do it. Unfamiliar ground or not, it was necessary. He knew that Juno understood.

When he stepped away and watched the _Rogue Shadow_ disappear into the stars, he knew that was the last time he would ever see her.

" _Goodbye, Juno…"_

* * *

**15\. Scape**

They sat in cockpit of the ship for several moments, just gazing at the city planet. Oranges and pinks tinted the reflections of entire sections of Coruscant different colors. It was a beautiful sight, particularly when it was just the two of them.

Starkiller sat silently in his chair, his expression brooding and dark. Juno glanced at him as she guided the ship into the atmosphere.

Neither of them spoke as they descended. The silence was tense. She wanted to ask why they had returned to the heart of Imperial power when they were on the run… But she couldn't.


	4. Set IV

**16\. Smart**

There were times - many of them, if Juno was honest - that she wondered if what they were doing was intelligent at all. She knew they were doing the right thing, but it was the traps she kept watching Starkiller walk straight into that caused her to think.

He had just returned from the incident (if anyone could call it that) in Cloud City. He was just as beaten as he always seemed to be.

Now, he sat in the copilot's seat, his expression brooding. Just like always. She let out an inward sigh, going back to her work.

* * *

**17\. 99**

Days had passed since she had walked this starship without being alone. Days had passed and months had gone by. The _Salvation_ was quite, fulled only with the sounds of the personel talking in the background.

She could not hear the heavy footsteps that had followed her for so long. Perhaps it was peace at least. Perhaps not. She could never tell. His ghost haunted her memory. If only she could have done something to save him. If only, if only… She couldn't save him. It had been his choice, not hers. He had given his life knowing the consequences.

* * *

**18\. Chief**

"You should really get that looked at by the mechanic."

A deep voice made Juno whirl, her long blond hair whipping behind her. A handsome young man stood behind her, clad in the same uniform that adorned her slender body. Juno flushed, her eyes dropping to the piece of machinery in her lap.

"I'm doing just fine, thanks," she replied. He wasn't her boss. He was a cadet, too, not the chief mechanic, that was for sure. Besides, she knew _exactly_ what she was doing, while she was certain that he didn't. At least, he didn't look like he did…

* * *

**19\. Agents**

What were they but the hand of Vader? What had he truly done that had merited anything?

His lightsaber flashed, humming in the too-still air around it. His heart pounded too loudly in his ears. His time had come.

This was his destiny. This was his only chance. He could save Juno and the rebels, or he could become the despicable creature that obeyed nothing but the Emperor's dark commands.

Galen Marek made his choice. Face forward, knowing what he was doing. He threw himself in front of Kota, knowing that this was the last thing he would ever do.

* * *

**20\. Shoe**

She always heard him when he was angry, even when he was in the back of the ship. When he kicked something over out of frustration, she knew what he was doing back there.

But, Juno never mentioned it. She never brought up how she knew he was frustrated or upset. She had seen him upset before, annoyed perhaps, but there was one thing she never wanted to see: Starkiller when he was angry. That scared her, unlike his commonly surly demeanor.

She would hate to be the one in his situation, she decided. She was glad that she wasn't.


	5. Set V

**21\. Super**

He did not know how he got out of some things alive. For all his confidence in his own skill, Starkiller did have doubts. Perhaps they were not something he could voice or anything, but they were there. He did his best not to notice those feelings at all. If he didn't acknowledge them, they couldn't be real. If they weren't real, he couldn't be weak.

He could never be weak. Not when he had to lead the rebels. He couldn't afford to let Vader have a foothold when it came time to face him. He had to be invincible.

* * *

**22\. Bat  
**

The Dark Lord's cloak furled out behind him as he walked toward Starkiller. His lightsaber was ignited and his intent deadly. This was the end for the boy. At least in one sense. He had been ordered to remove his apprentice from the picture.

The instant he impaled the boy, he felt Starkiller's control unravel. Pain and betrayal flooded through the Force.

Despite the years he had spent training the boy, Vader couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for this. It only advanced his plans. The boy was his slave, after all. He was so easy to manipulate. So trusting.

* * *

**23\. Wonder  
**

There were moments when Juno wondered exactly how strong Starkiller was. When he came back after a fight was the most common time for those thoughts. He always looked so tired and somber. The flicker in his eyes that came after their escape from the _Empirical_ also caused her to question him. He was so withdrawn that – if she thought about it – she barely knew him.

As time passed, she began to realize that he was changing. He wasn't just Starkiller anymore. He was so much more than that. In the end, he was a hero. More than a hero.

* * *

**24\. Hawk  
**

His master was watching him. The Apprentice always knew when Vader was watching him. That hard gaze always felt like it was piercing him in the back when he was dueling with Proxy under his master's eye. It was not a good feeling. He did not like it.

But he knew nothing else. He was not allowed to be near many other people. Only those selected by Vader were allowed in his presence. Vader watched him like a hawk, always catching every single little thing that Starkiller did wrong.

There were some days when he wished he could be free.

* * *

**25\. Lantern**

The light illuminated his face as he looked at the woman in the cell. Juno Eclipse glared at him. The great traitor.

"I trusted you," she snarled. "I thought you were different! You destroyed everything we worked for!"

Darth Everis smirked at her. "You knew it was my destiny, Juno. Just like I did. It was only a matter of time." Then he turned and walked away from the cell, black robes fluttering behind him.

Kota shook his head in the other corner. "There is no light left in him. He's gone, Juno. Galen is lost to the Dark Side."


	6. Set VI

**26\. a light in the dark  
**

His life had always been so empty before. It had been full of darkness and pain and suffering, nothing more. Starkiller's heart was so cold before Juno had entered his life that he had never noticed the chill.

He never noticed when the chill disappeared either. He had simply changed. He did not realize it until their time together was ending. He knew he would not survive the ordeal, but he had to try. She was his light in the darkness that threatened to stifle him. He had to try to reach for it; he had to reach for Juno.

* * *

**27\. steer by the stars  
**

This was her life. As she set the course into the navicomputer, Juno glanced over her shoulder at the young man staring out at the stars. He looked so peaceful for that moment. He wasn't angry or bitter now. He was just Galen. Nothing more. There were times – frequent times – when she wished that he was truly nothing more than just himself and not a Jedi. Maybe then they could be something together. For now, that was not the case. They could only go where they had to and do what they had to. That was just how things were.

* * *

**28\. shake the heavens  
**

It was an instant. Only an instant. But it was enough to turn Juno's world upside down.

The moment their lips touched, she knew that he loved her, too. She knew that they were meant to be together. She knew that she loved him utterly and completely.

Then he was so cruelly ripped away from her.

In time, the _Salvation_ was just what its name stated. It saved her when she was trying not to fall off the edge. But she missed him. No matter how hard she tried to stop. She always would. Galen Marek had changed her world.

* * *

**29\. beneath these hands  
**

Juno sat where she always did when she was piloting the ship. This was different, though. Now it was over. Not everything, but enough to change her world.

Kota couldn't see the tears running down her face, but he knew. He knew that she missed Starkiller. He knew that she had loved him. He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright," he said. "We'll be fine. That's what he would want. He loved you, too. You were the light in his heart before he died," he reminded her. "He's not gone. He's still here."

* * *

**30\. the path and the walker**

_I chose this. I knew it would happen._ The _Empirical_.

 _No, I didn't. This path chose me._ Bespin.

 _I just don't know anymore._ Corellia.

Starkiller did not know what he was going to do as they approached the Death Star. He had no idea. But he knew what he had to do. This was what he was meant for. It always was. He chose this path – just as the path chose him and made him who he had become.

It was his life to live and his life to lay down. This was his path and he was the walker.


	7. Set VII

**31\. Iron  
**

Starkiller was a man standing on the edge of a vibroblade. One step too far and he would fall. He had never given what he was doing much thought, yet the beginnings of the Rebellion were before him.

 _They want you to lead them_. The very idea did not feel real, nor did the proof standing only meters from him. For the first time in his life, what he was doing was _his_ instead of Vader's. For the first time, he was free.

He made his choice and leapt for the Light, for freedom from the darkness consuming his soul.

* * *

**32\. Challenge  
**

He never wanted to fight a bull rancor again, he decided. He leapt out of the way of the creature's claws again. It swung at him again, nearly lifting him off his feet.

The next instant he hit the wall of the clearing. _You forgot about the other hand_. Galen swore at himself as he dropped to the ground.

He was going to feel that once he got back to the _Rogue Shadow_. If he got off of Felucia alive again, he corrected himself.

When the rancor finally fell, he breathed a sigh of relief. One more battle behind him.

* * *

**33\. Stadium  
**

Once upon a time, it might have been him standing before Mon Mothma as she spoke of defeating the Emperor and destroying the new Death Star. Once, it might have been him rallying the soldiers instead of her.

No, it would not have been, he corrected himself. It had never been him. Those were the memories of a dead man, not his own.

He turned off the holoprojector. It did not matter. If he was a clone, then so be it. If he was real, whatever Vader had done to his head was working and Galen Marek was still dead.

* * *

**34\. Chairman  
**

The Skywalker boy found him years later. It surprised him more than it should have. The boy was a beacon of light if ever he felt one.

"I'm looking for Galen Marek," he said.

Starkiller opened his eyes to look at the boy. "Galen Marek is dead."

"Eyewitnesses in the Rebellion have told me otherwise."

"They are wrong. Galen died many years ago. I'm not the man you are looking for."

"You don't have to be. I am trying to rebuild the Jedi Order. You could help rebuild it."

"No. He could. I'm not him. I only wish I was."

* * *

**35\. Chef**

"You know, those ration bars aren't very good for you."

The feminine voice behind him made Starkiller turn. Juno Eclipse stood behind him, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the doorway.

He shrugged. "They're nutritious and they work," he said.

"That doesn't mean they're good for you. Trust me, I've had enough of them for a lifetime."

Starkiller raised an eyebrow. "What do you propose?"

"There's food on here, isn't there? I'm sure we'll come up with something."

He sighed to himself. It was irritating, but this was not a battle he had any desire to fight.


	8. Set VIII

**36\. Ducks  
**

It did not take Juno long to realize that the Galen she got back was not the same man as the Galen she had lost on the Death Star. He was just _different_. Whatever Vader had done to him, it ran deeper than the scars of his childhood.

She would watch him sometimes, when he thought she was not looking. He loved her, she knew, but he refused to let her in. He would disappear for days. Sometimes she would find him sitting in a park or a field watching local wildlife. It killed her to see him like this.

* * *

**37\. Money  
**

It took them some time to sort things out after the events of Kamino. Kota and Juno wanted him to return to the Rebellion, but it felt wrong. Starkiller could not explain why, but he thought it might have something to do with his inability to differentiate between the jumble of memories that littered his mind.

He settled on bounty hunting. It was simple. He was good at it. Neither of them was pleased with his choice, but he needed time to sort out the mess in his head.

Maybe when he stopped waking up screaming, things would be different.

* * *

**38\. Uncle  
**

If there was one thing Juno would give PROXY credit for, it was that the droid was hard to destroy. He had survived countless duels when he had attacked his master, Raxus Prime, and an attack by Lord Vader.

Even half-buried in the snow on Corellia, the droid's metal body – save for area melted by Vader's lightsaber – was intact. He was relatively easy to salvage between her and Kota, and he was not difficult for someone with her skills and training to repair.

Seeing PROXY's sensors light up again made Juno's chest ache. If only all things were so simple.

* * *

**39\. Gizmo  
**

There was a simple joy in making the repairs and upgrades the _Rogue Shadow_ required. It made Juno less nervous when she was working with her hands and she was smudged with grease. Sometimes she could forget that Starkiller had a high turnover rate.

Sometimes her curiosity nearly got the best of her. Sometimes she nearly asked him or PROXY what happened to the ones before her direct predecessor. She knew that he, at least, had been executed by Darth Vader. The other six were a mystery, but she was not sure she wanted to know what happened to them.

* * *

**40\. Tales**

They told stories of him after his death. Suddenly Galen Marek was a pillar of light in the darkness. Some of them made him heroic from the beginning – they said he bravely endured Vader's training, rebelled when Vader was absent, and finally broke free after Vader tried to kill him.

The stories bothered Juno. They made the man she had known into some sort of blameless symbol instead of the man he was. He would have hated what they had made him into, she thought. He knew the horrible things he had done in the beginning better than anyone else.

* * *


	9. Set IX

**41\. Murder  
**

Juno had misgivings when PROXY projected Rahm Kota and began to tell Starkiller about the old Jedi.

She was as loyal to the Empire as any of the pilots in her squadron had been, but it had been many years since the Emperor had purged the Empire of Jedi. If any of them had survived that long, perhaps they deserved to be left in peace.

She remembered stories from when she was young – the Jedi were always heroes. Even when her father said they were traitors and murderers.

For the first time in her career, doubt crept into Juno's mind.

* * *

**42\. Mystery  
**

There was something about the Jedi Temple that made him incredibly uncomfortable. The stormtroopers were nothing but an annoyance. It was the feeling that seemed to permeate the whole building.

He would feel the Force here, stronger than ever before, but it was different. There was something off about it, something he could not place. He could feel death—and something else that he could not identify.

Starkiller had a feeling that Vader had sent him here for more than he had been told. It was not his place to question his master, but he could not ignore the doubt.

* * *

**43\. Writer  
**

Juno usually found solace in the reports she needed to submit to Republic High Command. The report in front of her was different. It hurt to see the official communication. Rham Kota was dead and his young companion had left the system after the funeral.

Her insides twisted as she remembered the last time she had seen Kota and Starkiller. Not since her sudden departure after she had realized that she and Starkiller could never survive. He was not the man she remembered; he was scattered and unstable. She loved him, but this was where she was supposed to be.

* * *

**44\. Retired  
**

The years after Kamino were long. They were difficult, too Kota died in his sleep half a decade later. Juno returned to the Rebel Alliance. That left him alone, save for PROXY. He was lucky, he knew. He was alive. Vader was dead. He finally had peace.

It had taken him several years to make his way back to Kashyyyk. The memory flashes still bothered him, but it was better in the place he remembered seeing his father.

He traced his hand over the Marek firebird – the Rebel firebird now – and let out a sigh for what could have been.

* * *

**45\. Teacher**

When he realized that the future he sensed was himself teaching Vader's assassin, there was nothing that could have shocked Rahm Kota more.

At Cloud City on Bespin, he was even more shocked. Though he was not entirely sure that the boy before him was the same boy, he had a feeling that it could be. Who else would it be?

In the end, he realized that he should be honored to teach the founder of the Rebellion, the young man who sacrificed everything for the hope of the galaxy, the way of the Jedi. He wished he still could.

* * *


	10. Set X

**46\. Captain  
**

The day she was elevated to captain and assigned command of the Black Eight Squadron were the happiest days of Juno Eclipse's young life.

The bombing of Callos and the aftermath changed everything. When she was pulled from command and given a secret assignment from Darth Vader himself was less happy. It was an honor, but ferrying one of Vader's operatives was not what she had in mind when she applied to the Academy. Then again, Callos was not what she had in mind either.

If her father could see her now, she knew he would not have been pleased.

* * *

**47\. Pilot  
**

"We both know that's not true. My being here has never been about my piloting."

That was what she had said to him; she almost wanted to kick herself. She could make it about the Rebellion, but that would not take back all of the implications that went with her questions. He had rescued her when she would soon be executed. He had come back from certain death and saved her.

Her feelings were not gratitude. There had been something stirring before. Him rescuing her had only made her realize what had begun to grow. She wished it had not.

* * *

**48\. Mechanic  
**

Once upon a time, he had taken to disassembling and reassembling his lightsaber to focus on the Dark Side, to channel his rage and his fear. The rage and fear were still there, but the red crystal that had once centered him so well floated uselessly in front of him.

_Peace is a lie._

No, it wasn't. There was no rage there. There was no suppression, like Vader had said there would be.

He reached for the blue crystal, touching its core with the Force. Where the red crystal had been full of rage, the blue was full of light.

* * *

**49\. Mercenary  
**

It was a week before they realized that had Boba Fett on their tail. Seeing the bounty hunter when they had set the _Rogue Shadow_ down at a spaceport on Corellia had spooked Starkiller.

They had thought they would be safe. Clearly, they had been wrong. Corellia offered none of the anonymity they had been hoping for. Fett was still trailing them, undoubtedly still in the pay of the Empire.

It took Starkiller only as long as it required to load their supplies to decide that they needed to leave. That did not stop the bounty hunter from following them.

* * *

**50\. Serenity**

_There is no emotion, there is peace_.

The very thought of peace made Galen scoff. If he had ever known peace, it was in his long-forgotten past.

 _There is no ignorance, there is knowledge_.

That was almost enough to make him laugh bitterly.

 _There is no passion, there is serenity_.

That was enough. Whatever the rest of Kota's Jedi Code was, he had had more than enough of it.

 _There is no chaos, there is harmony_.

If there was anything else wrong, it was that. Chaos was exactly what Galen did best.

_There is no death, there is the Force._


	11. Set XI

**51\. Office  
**

Whenever Lord Vader called for him, an unsettled feeling made his chest constrict. Perhaps it was the anticipation, the knowledge that whatever Vader wanted, it would almost undoubtedly inflict more pain on him.

His tolerance for pain was high – it had to be, serving Vader – and his allegiance was to his master. He would do whatever Lord Vader required of him, no matter what it meant.

He stepped into Vader's chamber, noting that the shell his master rested in was closed.

Starkiller moved to stand in front of the pod, bracing himself for whatever was to come. Then he waited.

* * *

**52\. Sales  
**

When she had agreed to this assignment – perhaps _agreed_ was not the best choice of words – Juno had been under the impression that Lord Vader would be providing supplies. She was, most unfortunately, quite mistaken. There were no contacts reaching out to them to offer what they needed. There were always supplies when they returned to base, but there were none provided otherwise.

She should have expected that to be one of her duties. Starkiller couldn't get them himself without attracting notice, after all. It was busywork, but it did keep her mind off of what she was involved in.

* * *

**53\. Accounting  
**

There was very little about Starkiller' – Galen's – turn to the Light Side that made sense to Juno. She understood the changes she observed – those were impossible not to see and relate to – but the Force and his connection to it were mysteries to her. With the Jedi extinct, she had never seen a Force-user beyond Darth Vader.

Kota's words – that she was the bright spot in his heart – were haunting. She did not know _if_ she was responsible or how much of what he had done was because of her – just that whatever she had done, she had saved him.

* * *

**54\. Management  
**

Starkiller was not sure how much he liked how the Rebellion was being run. He had absolutely no say in the matter, but it was drastically different than the plans he had had before the Death Star.

He did not even want to be in charge, yet he could almost imagine what it would have been like beyond the memories of the success and failure at the space station.

He had to tear his thoughts away – what he wanted now was far different than what it might have been if the events of Corellia had not brought him to this.

* * *

**55\. Temp  
**

After the third pilot, Starkiller stopped bothering to learn their names or about their careers prior to serving as his pilot. They would be gone soon enough anyway. They did their job – most of the time –and it was usually not worth his time or effort to interact with them.

Captain Juno Eclipse was an anomaly. She was the first female pilot he had had – that was enough to pique his curiosity.

Whatever Vader's reasons for assigning her to him, Starkiller was not sure it was a good idea. There was something about her that seemed different than the rest.


	12. Set XII

**56\. Terrorists  
**

Very little made Juno angrier than the accusations she saw on the holonet. The headlines accused the Rebellion of having no good intentions, of trying to destroy what their benevolent emperor had built for them in the last twenty years.

It was something she could funnel her anger into, something that distracted her until she could go to the officers' training rooms and take her feelings out on the punching bag in one corner.

It gave her focus, but that was all. It gave her a place to hide from everything, but especially from her feelings. It did not help.

* * *

**57\. Deadline  
**

Starkiller soon realized that whatever feelings had been between him and Juno – or had it been Galen and Juno? – dissipated once he was in her presence constantly. There was tension between them, but it was not the same as before.

He had reasoned that it did not matter if he was the real Galen Marek resurrected or another unstable clone. He felt like he was wrong now.

He did not know what to expect of her – or what she was expecting from him. What he did know was that he was not what she wanted him to be. Not

* * *

anymore.

**58\. Jack  
**

It became clear almost immediately that her interrogators knew nothing about Starkiller or his missions. They also seemed to be completely blind to Vader's involvement in the entire affair. Not to mention they seemed to think that she knew things that she did not.

It hurt more than it should have when they had told her that Starkiller was dead. Somehow, he had become her friend in the months since she had begun piloting for him.

They branded her a traitor for being associated with him and that just made everything worse. Her entire life was falling apart around her.

* * *

**59\. Defiant  
**

Galen had never defied Vader before. He had never had a reason to. He had not understood before what it was like for other people – he had not understood what freedom was like before now.

Defiance was exhilarating. Fostering the Rebellion felt right. It was not simply about rebellion, but using his newfound knowledge and strength to make things right.

When he saw Vader step into the room, all of the fury that he had learned to release flashed through his veins. Hatred sparked in him again when Vader revealed his apprenticeship – his _former_ apprenticeship. He was Vader's no longer.

* * *

**60\. 24  
**

There were dozens of little pieces of metal floating around him. Some of them were tools, others were fragments of his disassembled lightsaber.

The active telekinesis helped him concentrate. It was something he had picked up as a child, when he had trouble meditating. Now it was a habit that he could not see a reason to put a stop to. They were just floating metal bits, but they seemed just as important as PROXY. They were useful. They meant something. They had to mean something, or the meditation means nothing.

Later, he realized they helped him keep his sanity.


	13. Set XIII

**61\. Enterprise  
**

It came together faster than he expected. It came together better than he expected, too. He just had to prove himself and the support came.

When he stood before the others on Corellia, Galen could see the future of the Rebellion before him. He could see a future for a systems oppressed by the Imperials. It was easy for him to see what could happen if the Rebellion was successful, if they liberate the people.

He had the world before him. He could do this. They could stop the Empire. Then everyone else could taste the same freedom he had.

* * *

**62\. Galaxy  
**

The whole world – the whole galaxy – was before them. They could go anywhere while they tried to level out after Kamino. They needed time. Starkiller, most especially, needed time.

Juno could see that he was tense. He was constantly on edge. If they weren't careful, he would break.

Sometimes he would fall asleep in the co-pilot's seat, the crash webbing strapped across him just in case.

She could not count the times he woke with a start, looking over in her direction in a panic. When he saw her, he would calm, but the fear on his face was unsettling.

* * *

**63\. Federation  
**

Seeing what he had built – had it been he that built it? – filled Starkiller with pride. It was fleeting, soon overtaken by doubt; not in them, but in himself.

The sacrifice on the Death Star had brought life to the Rebellion that might have taken years to build otherwise. What would have happened if he – _Galen_ – had not sacrificed himself? Would they have survived? Would they have triumphed?

The rise of the New Republic brought to mind the memories from Corellia. They might not be his memories, but he could not help but be proud of what they had become.

* * *

**64\. Next  
**

_You must face a true Jedi Master. Master Shaak Ti. One of the last of the Jedi Council_.

His next target's name filled Starkiller with exhilaration and anxiety. He knew he could face her. He had defeated PROXY's program based on her style months before.

A Jedi Master seated on the Jedi Council would not be easy to defeat. She had trained for years to be among the best. She would prove to be a true challenge for his abilities.

He was not worried. He had already defeated General Rahm Kota and Kazdan Paratus. He could take down Shaak Ti.

* * *

**65\. Generation**

It was strange for him to see Luke Skywalker's Jedi on the holonet. It brought back memories of another life – memories that he had thought were long forgotten.

Without the tyranny of the Empire they flourished. It did not shock him.

If anything, it made him feel lonely. He could only imagine how it might have been if the Jedi had not been massacred and Galen Marek had become a Jedi Knight.

It was beyond his reach, but he was glad that Skywalker was filling the void for the sake of the children, so that they were not like him.


	14. Set XIV

**66\. Psychic  
**

"You can't hide your feelings from me, no matter how hard you try."

Those words never failed to send a chill down his spine. They followed him wherever he went, even when he tried his hardest not to feel _anything_.

It had never mattered to him when he was a boy. Now that he was grown, he buried himself in his missions. He hunted Jedi. He forced his doubt down.

When Juno confronted him after Felucia, he realized what the words truly meant.

"You're still his—his—"

"His slave."

He was a slave and his fear was his shackles.

* * *

**67\. Detective  
**

It did not take Juno long to put everything together after Corellia.

PROXY was missing, Kota and the senators had been captured, and Galen was very angry.

His anger faded during the journey to the Death Star. She could see him out of the corner of her eye and she _knew_. She knew that he would do anything for their fledgling Rebellion. He would even give his life for it.

The thought of him laying down his life was unsettling. She did not want him to go.

She knew he would anyway, that it was something he had to do.

* * *

**68\. Fraud  
**

When Leia Organa – Leia Organa _Solo_ , he reminded himself – had discovered that he was alive via her brother, she had made a personal trip to see him.

The moment he saw her, he turned around and started walking away. Starkiller could not bring himself to face her. He had already told Skywalker that he was not interested in the Republic or the Jedi.

He still remembered the girl she had been. He remembered who he had been. Before Vader had wrecked havoc in his mind again.

It took her a very long time to convince him not to avoid her.

* * *

**69\. Awareness  
**

Power surged through his body, searing his nerves and making his flesh burn. Lightning crackled between him and the Emperor. The electricity jumping between their bodies created a nimbus of deadly force.

Galen could hardly breathe. It was all he could do to press forward, toward the Emperor. He had to stop this. This had to end before it hurt the senators or Master Kota – or worse, Juno. He took another step forward.

He was not going to let that happen.

The explosion ripped through him a few seconds later. Suddenly, the power was gone and so was everything else.

* * *

**70\. Pharmaceutical  
**

The drugs Vader's med droids had pumped him with made him dizzy.

It slowed his reflexes and it nearly made it so that he got blasted more than once on his way to rescue Juno.

His stomach protested the rapid movement and the rest of his body ached.

He knew it would fade, but it was aggravating. Vader had said he had made _improvements_ , had he not? What in the world had he meant?

Being off his feet in the _Rogue Shadow_ helped.

He would never let Juno or PROXY see this weakness. He hated it, even when it faded.


	15. Set XV

**71\. Hold Back the Darkness  
**

His heart pounded. Here he stood, finally before the Emperor. This was all that he had desired during his training, to kill the Emperor and fulfill his master's wishes.

It did not matter any more. Whatever his desires had once been, they were mistaken.

He wanted to kill Vader. He wanted to kill the Emperor. He wanted to finally be free.

He hesitated. There were more important things than his freedom.

Kota made the decision for him. He was the only thing between the galaxy and total darkness.

This was his purpose.

His chains were broken. He finally was free.

* * *

**72\. Take a Stand  
**

There was a moment when Starkiller realized that this rebellion was more than just a rebellion. It was more than just an assignment from Lord Vader, meant to distract the Emperor. It was more than just a means to an end.

His rebellion had become something far bigger than he had ever expected it to. It meant something to his allies. It meant something to _him_.

If that meant that the Death Star was where he made his final stand, so be it. At least he would take a stand for something he believed in – something that gave him hope.

* * *

**73\. When You're Lost  
**

They gave her no time to grieve. Perhaps it was more accurate to say that she gave herself no time to grieve. Juno threw herself into Galen's Rebellion instead. Her thoughts had been scattered when they offered her a ship. Saying yes seemed like it would honor his sacrifice.

She hardly took a moment to think about what _she_ might want instead of what might make Galen's sacrifice mean something.

But it did not mean anything. Not when his death haunted her. Not when she still turned and expected him to be standing next to her when he never was.

* * *

**74\. No Solid Ground  
**

Starkiller felt like everything was falling apart around him. He could not tell if he was going insane or if it was the effects of his memories coming back – he could not even tell if they were truly his memories or just whatever Vader had used to train him.

He had nowhere to go. The only idea that spun in his head was the thought of finding Juno. The intensity of the thought scared him. It was dangerously close to a disturbingly single-minded focus – it was dangerously close to obsession.

Even though his ship was steady, his head kept spinning.

* * *

**75\. There's Only Us  
**

For a moment, it was just the two of them, hovering above the Emperor's space station. For that moment, they could be two ordinary people instead of Darth Vader's former apprentice and his pilot.

Their eyes met when they pulled away. He had no words to say to her, no comfort to offer. They both knew that this is a suicide mission, but they both knew that he had to do this. If he did not, he would be betraying everything he had come to believe in.

But for just a moment, it was only them and that was enough.


	16. Set XVI

**76\. Ranger  
**

Starkiller found that he liked the forests of Kashyyyk. They were full of the hum of life stretching as far as he could see, but he was very much alone.

He did not speak Shyriiwook and he hardly understood it, so the Wookies left him to his own devices for the most part.

He did his best to avoid the lower levels of the forest, which was not particularly hard to do, especially if he stayed near the coast when he explored.

It was strangely peaceful at the Marek homestead. He needed that after everything that had happened to him.

* * *

  **77\. Cavalier**

"I bring Darth Vader's enemies to justice." **  
**

He had once said those words with such conviction. That had been his sole purpose. He had lived and breathed Darth Vader's will as he carried it out.

He only realized later how much emptiness had hidden behind his cavalier attitude. It occurred to him, however, that he had had nothing else to measure it by. How was he supposed to know how empty he was when he did not know what it was like to be full of anything, much less what it was like to be full of light and hope.

* * *

  **78\. Thief  
**

He buried his grief in a bottle.

Rahm Kota had hardly been sober since Vader's assassin had defeated him at Nar Shadaa. He could not see – and worse, he had _failed_.

The memory of his failures haunted him. The boy had been so strong, so full of rage. The boy and his fate made Kota grieve all the more. If the Jedi had found him – if the Order had still been intact – he would have been a powerful Jedi Knight, perhaps even a powerful Jedi Master when the time came.

The will of the Force was certainly a strange thing.

* * *

  **79\. Acrobat  
**

He despised AT-STs. They were thorns in his side and he was getting very tired of dealing with them. It did not matter that he had hardly seen them before – he had seen more than he wanted to see. And they were always, _always_ blasting at him.

He picked himself up from the ground again and ignited his lightsaber. He had had about enough of dealing with the AT-ST before him.

Another blast shook the ground as he flung himself into the air toward it. It was not that they were difficult to take down – they were just incredibly irritating.

* * *

  **80\. Barbarian**

His muscles burned and the smell of singed flesh reached him. The crossed lightsaber blades were too close.

It took everything Starkiller had not to panic as Vader's blade slowly inched toward him. His master would feel his fear. He was already testing him to make sure he was worthy. If he sensed Starkiller's fear he might not think that his apprentice was worthy enough to continue his training.

After months of grueling training, that was the last thing he wanted. He did not want to fail. He could do this.

He shifted and broke away. He _could_ do this.


	17. Set XVII

**81\. Boys  
**

Seeing Starkiller and Kota together made Juno's heart feel near to bursting. She had never thought she would see Galen again after the Death Star.

And in some senses, she never would. The man before her might be a clone. If he was not, he was still not the man she had fallen in love with. Whatever Vader had done to him, it had left him shattered.

He would get better, but he would never be quite the same as before. In some ways, it seemed like what Vader had done was even crueler than it was the first time.

* * *

**82\. Mountain  
**

When she found him again, he was no longer by the sea on Kashyyyk. The old home he had stayed in was empty, but the things he had acquired over the years – some things that she had sent him, even - were still there.

He did not return at nightfall, which prompted her to venture into the forest and ask the Wookies. One of the ones that knew Basic pointed her in the right direction.

She found him meditating deep in the upper forest.

For the first time in a very long time, she saw a light in his eyes.

* * *

**83\. Town  
**

Starkiller liked solitude.

While he appreciated the Wookies in the nearby village and their occasional attention, he liked being alone once Juno left.

It was easier to think when he was alone. It was easier to see past the nauseating memory flashes and the obsessive thoughts – of training, of perfection, _of Juno_ – when he meditated alone.

He was grateful when the obsessions died down. Then he could think and sort through his fractured memories and begin to find his shattered sense of self again.

In some ways, he was grateful that he could be truly alone to sort it out.

* * *

**84\. Controversy  
**

When Mon Monthma heard that Galen was alive, she was not pleased. When she saw him, Juno could see all her plans for the Rebellion slipping away just by looking at her face.

She and Bail Organa ended up arguing outside of the conference room they left Starkiller inside – one for his return and one against.

When they returned, Starkiller did not let them tell him who won the argument. Rather, he announced that he had no intention of returning to the Rebellion, much less leading it. He had to deal with what Vader had done to his head first.

* * *

**85\. Profanity**

Starkiller never swore. That was something Juno became increasingly aware of the longer she served as his pilot.

She had seen him angry a few times – and seeing him angry was more than terrifying enough – but he always sat and stewed in his anger rather than taking it out on anyone – or anything – on the _Rogue Shadow_.

Between the two of them, she was the one most likely to swear – usually at the ship when she was bent over a sensor array or something else that wasn't behaving.

The first time he swore in her presence, it was absolutely terrifying.


	18. Set XVIII

**86\. Steed  
**

He could see the regret in Maris Brood's eyes when she begged for her life. Her rancors lay dead in his wake and she knew that she was next – she _deserved_ to be next. He could see that in her eyes, too.

The regret stopped him. He knew regret. He refused to acknowledge any regret he felt, but he knew it was there. He remembered all the things he had done in acute detail.

It was only after he knew what betrayal – the very betrayal that Shaak Ti had warned him about – there was a bitter taste in his mouth.

* * *

**87\. Peel  
**

It was the best she could do to get out of there as fast as she possibly could. The explosion rocked the _Rogue Shadow_ and sent it spinning out of control, tumbling away from the Death Star.

The senators were safe and Kota collapsed in the copilot's seat a few minutes after she righted the ship.

"Did you—"

"He's gone, Juno."

Her heart caught in her throat.

"How did you—"

"I felt him die." Kota's voice was soft, almost as heartbroken as she felt.

It was all she could do not to burst into tears on the spot.

* * *

**88\. Gale  
**

He had a bad habit of falling off of things. Usually, it was that he was thrown rather than jumping off.

Every once in a while, he would find that moment of inertia when he was thrown off where there was nothing but _falling_. There was a moment where he was powerless.

He hated that moment. He hated being powerless to stop himself from slamming into walls and tumbling into the ground. He hated being powerless in general. It brought back too many memories of his training, of how he had failed and what Vader had done _because_ he failed.

* * *

**89\. Stylish  
**

Changing out of his old training uniform was a welcome relief. It had been so long since he had any new clothing that it felt like a luxury to have something new and clean against his skin.

The torn tunic he had worn for years was not distracting him when he moved anymore and he certainly did not miss the painstaking hours mending it so that it would hold together for one more mission.

In some ways, that was more freeing than anything else he had experienced without Vader's leash pulling him back to his master – to his _former_ master.

* * *

**90\. Needed  
**

The look of betrayal on Bail Organa's face told Galen everything he needed to know.

He knew he never should have trusted Vader. He _knew_ he had been stupid. He never should have expected his former master to actually stay out of what he was doing.

He deserved the fall, the nearly bone-shattering impact. If he had not known that he was the only one who could – and would – do anything to stop this, to save them, he might have given up and let the cold take him. If it had not been for Juno, he almost certainly would have.


	19. Set XIX

**91\. Theater  
**

He could not get the thought of what they were doing out of his head.

The entire trip to Corellia was full of anxiety and confusion. Galen had no idea what to say to them – they had heard the best speakers all before and he was most certainly not one of them.

He ran over ideas in his head, considering every aspect of his word choice. He _had_ to have the right things to say.

He was earning their trust; now he just had to keep it.

He would not let anything get in the way of his Rebellion now.

* * *

**92\. Singing  
**

When Juno kissed him, it made his heart jump. It surprised him enough to drop his guard and kiss her back.

When he fell from the _Rogue Shadow_ through the scaffolding of the unfinished Death Star, he was happy. She made him happy.

He knew the moment would not last long – he had to focus and find his way to Kota and the Senators – but for that moment, he let himself feel what he wanted to and used it to find his center. He knew what he was fighting for – and he knew that it was all because of her.

* * *

**93\. Jokes  
**

When PROXY first came to Starkiller, the droid nearly killed him. On multiple occasions.

At first, it irritated him. It was the droid's primary programming, but that did not mean that Starkiller had to appreciate it.

If he was honest with himself, however, he far enjoyed PROXY's challenges more than he enjoyed Vader's teachings.

The older he got the more he began to appreciate PROXY. The droid might still be trying to kill him, but there was an easiness about their camaraderie. He was the only friend Starkiller had ever had, if that was what having a friend was like.

* * *

**94\. Guests  
**

After the fall of the Empire, he visited the Jedi Temple on Coruscant again.

It was full of rubble and some of it was his doing. A great deal of it, in fact.

It had been cleaned out for the most part. The only evidence of his visits was the occasional bit of armor and wreckage all over the place.

No one would rebuild the place. Skywalker was setting up his praxeum elsewhere. The Jedi would not return to their temple any time in the near future.

Despite that, he had a feeling that it would not be empty forever.

* * *

**95\. Puppets  
**

No more. No more would he be Vader's puppet. No more would he follow the commands of a madman, set on the destruction of the galaxy.

No more strings. He was his own man now. He was _not_ under the control of Darth Vader. He was not under the control of the Emperor. His choices were his own. His life was his own.

It was painfully, _beautifully_ obvious as power jumped between him and the Emperor. He was in control. He was actually _winning_.

He would never survive, but he _won._

There were no more strings to hold him down.


	20. Set XX

**96\. Girl  
**

Rham Kota knew the instant the boy approached him. He knew exactly who he was. He knew what the boy's presence felt like – dark, consuming, _suffocating_. He almost thought the boy was there to finish what he started. Until he felt the spark of light in his heart.

When he met Juno Eclipse, he began to understand. He might not be able to see and he might have been drunk, but he could sense the tension when Starkiller and Juno were in the same room.

She was the spark that set fire to Starkiller's heart and set him towards redemption.

* * *

**97\. Secret  
**

Starkiller's heart sank when his master said that the Emperor had followed him to Vader's location. There was no way that was possible. Juno was always so careful to keep them cloaked and no one had been on the _Rogue Shadow_ but the two of them and PROXY.

His train of thought was cut off by the searing pain in his chest. The blood red glow of his master's blade disappeared, leaving a dull ache behind.

In that moment, he knew that everything they had been working for was gone.

His last thought before everything began to fade was Juno.

* * *

**98\. Blood  
**

There is enough blood on his hands, he decided. Maris Brood may have lost herself to the Dark Side on Felucia, but she was no worse than he was. Truthfully, she was better than he. He had killed her master and let Felucia fall to the Dark Side.

He was masquerading as a Jedi Knight in front of Senator Organa, but it was a lie – one that he was acutely aware of. It worked with his plans, but he almost regretted lying to the senator.

Perhaps his allegiance to the Dark Side and Darth Vader was not so strong anymore.

* * *

**99\. Magic  
**

When he was a child, Galen had thought that the Force was a fascinating thing. It was a tool to survive Vader's training and it reminded him that he was not alone.

As the years passed, it became less fascinating and more dangerous. His meditations would leave him in a haze of anger. The Dark Side gave him strength. It gave him power.

The Dark Side, however, was not wondrous. It was intoxicating and it offered incredible power, but not without cost.

It took him time to realize exactly what that cost was.

* * *

**100\. Slayer**

When the news that the Emperor and Darth Vader were dead reached him, it made Starkiller's heart constrict. The memories of the Death Star burned in his vision.

He took a deep, calming breath. Whatever could be said about what had happened, it had left him fractured. He had long ago decided that it did not matter if he was a clone or the real Galen Marek, but it did not feel like it was insignificant.

The news gave him some relief, however: the dark presence that had tormented him for years was gone. But where did that leave him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of Star Light, Star Bright. I have loved working on this fic and I am very sad to see it go. There is a possibility of occasional very sporadic updates, but it very much depends on a lot of factors, including inspiration and my personal life (which likes to implode regularly). I'm also hoping at some point to get a full length Starkiller fic going, but that could be (and probably will be) a long time coming. Thank you all so much for reading!


End file.
